Doing Business in Mongolia

Mongolia has achieved remarkable success over the past two decades in transforming itself from a socialist country with a planned economy into a vibrant multi-party democracy with one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

GDP growth reached 17 percent in 2011 and 12 percent in last year.

The economic outlook for Mongolia is quite positive because the mining sector will extend even further and large scale projects such as Oyu Tolgoi –one of the biggest copper and gold mine in the world, Tavan tolgoi – biggest metallurgical and thermal coal deposit as well – are being undertaken.

Major infrastructure and industrialization are at the brink of rapid development.

Services industry makes up around 50 percent of economic structure. IT and communications are very rapidly developing in Mongolia. It has a great agricultural potential with its pasture-based animal husbandry.

The Mongolian government aims to run a consistent policy of keeping a stable legal environment for foreign investment and offering a favorable condition for investment procedures and regulations.

Mongolia acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997. The WTO agreements have been largely incorporated into Mongolia’s domestic law. Mongolia has complied with the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade upon its accession to the WTO. The majority of Mongolia’s tariffs are set at 5% with a ceiling of 20%.

Mongolia has entered into a Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement with 43 countries which offer protection to foreign investors.

According to the Economic Freedom Index 2013, Mongolia is ranked 12th out of 41 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is above the regional average.

The World Bank also ranked Mongolia 76th out of 185 countries in 2013, up 12 places from the last year. (Doing Business 2013 Report)

A newly established investment promotion agency, Invest Mongolia Agency, has recently released an Investment Guide to Mongolia. This comprehensive guide for foreign investors provides useful information on doing business in Mongolia including visa requirements, company registration, taxation, labor and trade-related laws and regulations etc.